This is why we're getting run over....

Over a million motorists think about sex rather than the road ahead and millions more who don't indulge in intimate thoughts are worrying about work or thinking about their families, a survey said on Thursday.

Over a million motorists think about sex rather than the road ahead and millions more who don't indulge in intimate thoughts are worrying about work or thinking about their families, a survey said on Thursday.

Ironically, traffic safety has become a victim of its own success. When people can drive year after year without getting injured, they become complacent. We need some way to remind John Q. Public that driving is a full time job demanding careful attention at all times, and that the consequences of inattention can be dire. Holding motorists legally accountable for the outcomes of "accidents" would at least help get their attention.

Most cyclists seem to be run over because they are relying on one particular motorist to be paying attention at a particular critical moment, and the motorist is not.

The reality is that most motorists are paying attention most of the time, but all motorists are not paying attention some of the time.

Therefore, at any give time any given motorist is probably paying attention, but he might not be.

So it's okay if your riding behavior and decisions rely on most motorists paying attention most of the time (because they are), but it's never okay to do something that relies on any one motorist necessarily paying attention, particulary if you have no way to verify that. This is of course especially important at intersections.

Most cyclists seem to be run over because they are relying on one particular motorist to be paying attention at a particular critical moment, and the motorist is not.

The reality is that most motorists are paying attention most of the time, but all motorists are not paying attention some of the time.

Therefore, at any give time any given motorist is probably paying attention, but he might not be.

So it's okay if your riding behavior and decisions rely on most motorists paying attention most of the time (because they are), but it's never okay to do something that relies on any one motorist necessarily paying attention, particulary if you have no way to verify that. This is of course especially important at intersections.